Sunday's big game is a 'mass transit Super Bowl'

Jan. 31, 2014
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Passengers board a Seattle Sound Transit train in 2009.

by Larry Copeland, USA TODAY

by Larry Copeland, USA TODAY

Those attending the big game Sunday won't be able to walk to MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., or get dropped off by a cab or limousine. If they drive, special parking passes will cost more than $150, and there are only about 11,000 parking spaces. About two-thirds of the 82,500 spectators are likely to arrive either by rail or by bus.

That's all led to the clash between the Denver Broncos and Seattle Seahawks being billed as "the first mass transit Super Bowl."

Paul Jablonski, CEO of the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System, begs to differ. He says that distinction should go to 2003's Super Bowl XXXVII, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Oakland Raiders 48-21 in San Diego. Jablonksi says 55% of the 68,000 attendees arrived by mass transit. "I guess memories are short, and this is New York," he says. "New York always thinks theirs is the first."

That kind of good-natured â?? mostly â?? ribbing comes amid what is a shining moment for transit agencies around the nation, who say Sunday's Super Bowl XLVIII merely highlights the fact that transit is a vital component of sporting events every week at the professional and college level.

"Whenever a big sporting event occurs, communities have to deal with the influx of thousands of people," says Michael Melaniphy, president and CEO of the American Public Transportation Association. "Public transportation is an essential community service that helps fans travel safely and efficiently to see their favorite team play. In fact, new stadiums are now designed specifically with public transportation access in mind."

The lack of transit access can be an issue for stadiums: When the Atlanta Braves announced last November that they were leaving Turner Field downtown for a not-yet-built facility in suburban Cobb County, one of the factors they cited was "a consistent lack of mass transportation." The nearest rail transit station is about a mile away. (The new site is not served by rail transit.)

Transit officials say being able to hop a train or bus after a sporting event can be especially attractive for those who want to avoid the traffic crush after the game and for those who have enjoyed adult beverages during the game.

"On the day before the Super Bowl in 2003, we had Super Fest," says Jablonski, whose city also hosted the Super Bowl in 1988 and 1998. "We had over 300,000 trips that day. This is why transit is so important. Anytime you have a venue with 70,000 people trying to get to it, it's going to overwhelm the roads and highway system. Transit is a very convenient option for people who don't want to drive."

It's not just the big game, either. During each San Diego Chargers home game, about 25% of spectators take transit to the game. About 10% of spectators at Padres baseball games arrive by trolley, as do 7%-15% of spectators for San Diego State University basketball games.

In Denver, the Regional Transportation District provides light rail service to Broncos football games at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, to Colorado Rockies baseball games at Coors Field and to Denver Nuggets basketball games at the Pepsi Center.

"Just over 25% of the people at the AFC championship game (Jan. 19) arrived by transit," says Scott Reed, RTD's assistant general manager. "That includes our bus service that we've provided to Broncos games since 1975, which is the year before the Seattle Seahawks came into existence, and we added light rail service in 2002."

Reed's boss, RTD general manager Phillip Washington, has a wager on the game with Joni Earl, CEO of Seattle's Sound Transit. The loser has to wear the winner's team jersey for at least a day and post a picture on their official website.

In Seattle, about 22% of spectators at Seahawks games take transit, says Sound Transit spokesman Bruce Gray. For home games, the agency wraps a locomotive on its Sounder commuter rail service to CenturyLink Field in Seahawks colors.

Sound Transit also serves fans of the Seattle Mariners attending baseball games at Safeco Field â?? but that service isn't as popular. "Well, the Mariners haven't done as well as the Seahawks in a few years," Gray says. "When the Mariners are doing well, we get more people on the train."

Transit is "very popular" with fans of the Seattle Sounders, who play soccer at CenteryLink Field, he says.

During the week of Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis in 2012, many of those attending the game and other festivities chose transit, says Mike Terry, president and CEO of Indianapolis Public Transportation, known as IndyGo. "We had a huge increase in ridership," he says. "We had 325,000 rides that week, a 40% increase over the same period the prior year."